First John 4

The call to spiritual discernment (4:1-6)

4:1

In the first century church, the gift of prophecy was operative unlike today. The pages of the NT bear witness to the prevalence of inspired prophets in the apostolic age (Acts 11:28; 13:1; 21:10; 1 Cor. 12-14). This unique gift of prophecy was not intended to be perpetual in the church for these prophets served, alongside the apostles, in a foundation-laying role (Eph. 2:20; 3:5). One key part of the foundation was the completion of the NT canon the production of the authoritative, inspired constitutional documents for the new covenant church. This was understood to be the production of Scripture (Romans 16:25-26). Ministers and teachers of the church today are successors of the apostles. Their labors are judged by their conformity to the apostolic foundation already laid (1 Cor. 3:10-15).

Nevertheless, for the first 60 or so years of the church from the death of Jesus to the completion of the NT canon (ca. 90) Christian prophecy was a well-known institution. However, this institution was not without its challenges. Just as in the OT, there were false prophets in the NT age as well. 2 Peter 2:1: "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves." There was also an unnamed woman in Thyatira who claimed to be a prophetess (Rev. 2:20). She led many astray by teaching them to commit spiritual adultery (that is, participation in the emperor cult). John calls her Jezebel to unmask her true nature.

How, then were the early Christian congregations to be protected from false prophets? The NT explains that all prophetic utterances were not to be received uncritically, but all utterances were to be tested:

1 Corinthians 14:29 "Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment."

1 Corinthians 12:10 "… and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits"

1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 "Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good."

1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

What was the standard of such testing and evaluation? Romans 12:6: "Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the analogy of the faith" (not "according to the proportion of his faith").

Our text tonight adds another test: In addition to the doctrinal content of the utterance itself, the prophet himself must have an orthodox confession of faith in Jesus Christ. He must profess that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh.

Too many Christians today accept the teaching they hear uncritically. Although the gift of prophecy itself has been withdrawn from the life of the church in the post-apostolic age, it is nevertheless just as imperative today that Christians test the spirits.

Not every teacher who has a large following and a charismatic personality is from God. You say, "But there is obviously some spiritual quality in this man. Look at the people who flock to his ministry! Look at his powerful preaching, the many people whose lives are being changed."

Be careful. Yes, there is obviously a spiritual force at work here. But is it the Spirit of God? Behind every prophet is a spirit animating and giving power to his teaching. But that spirit may be another spirit. Satan often clothes himself as an angel of light a minister of righteousness. 2 Cor. 11:13-15: "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds."

How can you tell the difference? The key issue is their attitude toward Jesus Christ. As always, the question of Jesus to his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" is the decisive test. This is not the sole test, of course. Jesus also taught, "By their fruits you shall know them." And John himself in this Epistle makes the same argument when he speaks of righteousness and love as another litmus test (1 John 3:10). The doctrinal test cannot stand alone and must be applied in connection with the ethical test. This is because there are some false teachers who have the right profession concerning Christ but whose lives demonstrate that they are not true servants of Jesus Christ. They have the form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. But even though the doctrinal test may not always be sufficient, it is certain that any teacher who confesses a false Christ is a false teacher.

4:2-3

After giving the initial call to discernment in v. 1 John now proceeds to define the doctrinal test. A proper confession concerning Jesus.

Translation problem: NAS, NIV, NKJ: "That Jesus Christ has come in the flesh." This translation doesn't take into account the precise nature of the heresy that John is combating. A more accurate translation would be: "That Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh."

The false teachers were docetists. That is, they denied that the flesh of Jesus was useful or important. Jesus was a mere man. The Christ was a divine spirit-being who indwelled the man Jesus temporarily and used him as a garment in order to teach the disciples. But when Jesus was crucified, the Christ departed from Jesus so that the Son of God himself was not corrupted by death.

The statement then affirms that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh. The man Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, the one who was born and who died and rose again, this man is nothing less than the Christ come in the flesh.

What a brief and succinct doctrinal statement, and yet one which is really quite profound. Note that this doctrinal statement implies both the deity and the humanity of Christ. First, the humanity of Christ ("come in the flesh"). Second, the deity of Christ ("come in the flesh").

In addition, the statement goes beyond a simple affirmation of the two natures of Christ and carries with it certain implications regarding soteriology, the doctrine of salvation. Salvation is not a gnostic enlightenment divorced from the flesh of Christ and his historic mission of obedience to the point of death. Salvation was accomplished in the flesh.

Romans 8:3 "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh."

Colossians 1:22 "He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death"

1 Peter 2:24 "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness."

4:4-6

"He who is in you" refers to God dwelling in us by his Spirit (3:24), and thus upon the role of the Spirit in applying the test. Cp. "You have an Anointing" (2:20).

There is a sharp antithesis between those who have the Spirit and those who do not, between those who are of God and those who are of the world. John now reminds us that we are capable of applying the doctrinal test because we have the presence of Christ himself by his Spirit dwelling within us.

The Spirit does several things in helping us to apply the doctrinal test. First, he illumines our minds to understand the truths of the Gospel, "the mystery of godliness" that God was manifested in the flesh. Second, he gives us an internal sense of delight in those truths so that we are confident that our feet are firmly planted in the truth. Third, he strengthens our resolve in maintaining the truths of the gospel against all external opposition and internal self-doubt.

Love perfected in us (4:7-21)

This is the third time now that John exhorts us to love one another. William Tyndale said, "John singeth his old song again." Each time, however, John adds increasing levels of harmonic depth to his song:

Chapter 2:3-11 - we should love another because this is the content of the new commandment, and because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

Chapter 3:11-23 - we should love one another because love is the evidence of spiritual life. He who hates is like Cain who killed his brother and therefore hatred is evidence of spiritual death. But he who loves is like Christ who gave his life for us and therefore love is evidence of spiritual life.

Chapter 4:7—5:2 - we should love one another because God is love, and therefore when we love one another. God's love is perfected in us.

This third section on love is best summarized in the words, "Love perfected in us," because the word "perfected" or "perfect" occurs 4 times in this paragraph: vv. 12, 17, 18 (2x).

However, the English translation "perfected" is misleading. The Greek word is teleioo. Unlike the English word "perfected," the Greek term does not connote the absolute absence of any defect whoever small - an unattainable or theoretical state of sinlessness. Instead teleioo focuses on the idea of bringing something to completion. It is used frequently in contexts having to do with something reaching its goal and coming to full expression.

The best way to explain this is by looking at an example where the word is used in a different context: 1 Cor. 13:8-12. You see that the contrast is between the partial knowledge of this present age and the perfect knowledge of the age to come, the immature thinking of the child and the maturity of the adult.

Thus, when John in our text speaks of God's love being perfected in us, he does not mean that we love as perfectly or as sinlessly as God, but that our learning to love one another is the completion of a love that began when God first loved us.

This section, then, is the culmination of John's reflection on love. He urges us to practice brotherly love because God's love for us must not remain an affection within the divine heart but must progressively work itself out and be manifested in those whom he loves.

The theme of love being perfected or completed in us is best seen in our text by taking two verses and putting them together: verses 11 and 19. Our love for one another is merely the outworking and manifestation of God's love for us. Love begins with God himself. He took the initiative when he sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. But having received God's love by faith we now have an obligation to love one another in return.

Love is like a divine fluid that God has poured out into our hearts. We have been filled to the brim but the love keeps flowing, and is now overflowing to others. Therefore, when we love one another we are merely sharing God's love for us. It is not a different kind of love. It is no less divine merely because it comes through earthen vessels.

Structure

1. Vv. 7-8: the love command stated: positively and negatively
2. Vv. 9-12: God's love was manifested to us (the sending of the Son)
3. Vv. 13-16: God's love was initiated in us (the giving of the Spirit)
4. Vv. 17-19: God's love is completed among us (the casting out of fear)
5. Vv. 20-21: the love command restated: negatively and positively

4:7-8

The concept of being begotten of God is crucial to the development of John's argument that God's love is perfected in us when we love one another. The argument is simple: God is love. If we are begotten of God, then we should be like him. Therefore, we must be filled with love as well.

"God is love." This must not be interpreted as an abstract statement concerning God's nature or being. We can never know God's being in and of itself. We can only know God's being by means of God's activity. Thus, God is love means that there has never been a time when the three persons of the Godhead did not relate to one another in a perfect communion of mutual and reciprocal love (John 17:24-26).

Since we have been born of God, we have been made sons of God, and thus we are enjoying the same love that the Father has for the Son from eternity. As sons, and as objects of the Father's affection, we are therefore to be like the Father, and therefore we are to love as he loves. If you do not love, you demonstrate that your nature is not God-like and that you do not know God.

4:9-12

Having laid down the basic premise, John now shows us step-by-step how it is that the eternal love of God was manifested to us and how it is then being wrought within us.

First, John begins with the manifestation of God's love in the sending of his Son to be our Savior. God took the initiative, not man. It is not our love that is primary but God's. Our love is but a response to his love for us. The sending of the Son is the concrete, historical revelation of God's love for us. It was a revelation of love, because it was the ultimate act of divine sacrifice. The cost to God was infinite, for two reasons:

First, God gave us his only begotten Son (v. 9). The NIV translates this verse "his one and only Son," but this misses the mark. This translation makes it sound as if the cost would not have been as great if God had had other sons. But the term monogenes is used (e.g., Heb. 11:17) not to refer to the fact that it is an only son but to demonstrate the love that the father has for the one who is his offspring begotten of him and therefore like him. God gave that which was precious to him the most precious thing imaginable. He gave that which was his – his not merely in the sense of a possession, but his in the sense of an image. The Father loves his Son, because his Son is the exact representation of his nature (Heb. 1:3), the very image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). The Father did not merely give us a gift. In giving his only begotten Son, he gave us himself.

Second, God sent him to be the propitiation for our sins (v. 10). The incarnation of the Son of God was not an end in itself. The incarnation was for the purpose of the atonement. The Father sent the Son to be the propitiation for our sins. "Propitiation" is a sacrifice that satisfies the infinite wrath of God. Christ's sufferings on the cross were not accepted by the Father in our place as if he paid the punishment we deserved thus removing the obstacles preventing God from forgiving our sins. They were a full and exact satisfaction of the claims of God's justice. This is called the satisfaction theory of the atonement as opposed to the acceptation theory. It has been criticized by many on the grounds that the forgiveness of sins would no longer be an act of divine mercy and grace. But this objection misses the all-important point that the mercy and grace of God are seen in the fact that he set Christ forth as our Substitute

The love of God therefore begins in the historical manifestation of the sending of the Son into the world to provide full atonement for our sins. We would not have known God's love were it not for the cross. In the cross we see it tangibly before our very eyes.

Because our minds and hearts have been darkened by sin we are prone not to believe God's love even if it were told to us a thousand times. But when we look up and behold the Lamb of God bearing away our sins in his own body on the tree we know that the Father loves us.

4:12

The love that is perfected in us is God's own love. This is a staggering thought. God's love, which originates in himself, and which was manifested in his the death of his Son, is brought to full expression, is reproduced within us, when we love one another.

4:13-16

So God's love has not only been manifested in history, it has also been initiated within us by the giving of the Spirit. It is not enough that the love of God be revealed objectively in the historical event of the death of Christ. That love must be poured out in our hearts by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit who gives us eyes to see the cross for what it is. The apostles have borne witness (v. 14), and we have believed their witness and confess that Jesus is the Son of God by the power of the Spirit who wrought faith in our hearts.

The question here is assurance: Yes, God manifested his love to us objectively in the giving of his Son. But how do I know if this objective revelation of divine love is being perfected within me subjectively?

John says, here is how we know: We know that we live in God and God lives in us because he has given us of his Spirit. And we know he has given us of his Spirit because we see the evidence of the Spirit's effectual working in us, namely, in our confession of faith in Christ.

Notice that John connects this confession of faith in Christ back to the whole issue of love when he says, "We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us," that is, the love as revealed in Jesus Christ.

So first, the love of God was revealed objectively to us. Now, the love of God is being initiated within us by the Spirit's working faith in our hearts, a faith that looks to Jesus as the revelation of God's love for us.

But still that love must be completed …

4:17-21

Translation of v. 17: "In this, love is perfected among us (so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment) because as he is, so also are we in this world."

The already and the not-yet: "in the day of judgment" (not yet), and "in this world" (already). We are already in this world as Christ is, that is, we are like Christ in his glorified state (cp. 1 John 3:1-2). Therefore, there is no need for fear at the prospect of the judgment for we will have confidence, or boldness. The only way that God's love can finally reach its full expression in our relationships with one another is if each one of us is fully assured of ours justification in Christ. If we have any fear of punishment we cannot have the completion of love within us.

Note that he speaks of love being completed "among us." He does not say "in us" because he is talking about our relationships in the body.

In vv. 20-21, John restates the love command both negatively (v. 20) and positively (v. 21).

John thus completes the process. The revelation of love in the cross 🡪 The initiation of love by the Spirit working faith in us 🡪 The completion of love among us by the expulsion of fear.